FOXBORO — Darrelle Revis still hasn’t stopped making plays, and Tom Brady knows the Patriots’ new defensive weapon is a necessary evil.

Revis intercepted Brady yesterday and returned it about 10 yards for a touchdown, taking advantage of Vince Wilfork’s dominant rush up the middle that forced a hasty throw toward Kenbrell Thompkins. Revis snuffed it out and scored with ease, providing yet another training camp highlight for a hot defense that has rallied around the cornerback’s playmaking affinity.

Revis has been a pest during each of the five padded practices. Among his list of merits, he intercepted Brady twice Saturday, erased Julian Edelman during a one-on-one drill to the point where Brady just spiked the ball Wednesday and then came up with the play of the day yesterday.

Cornerback Brandon Browner hasn’t been as consistent as Revis, but he has broken up his share of passes, including Brady’s bid for Brandon LaFell yesterday. The 6-foot-4, 221-pounder showed off his potential Wednesday by manhandling his foes and intercepting Brady’s final pass of practice.

“They’re both great players, so when you make a mistake, they make you pay,” Brady said. “I think that’s the mark of a really good corner. As a quarterback, you’re always trying to find the weak link in the defense, and neither of those guys are weak links. Sometimes, we’ve got to go after them. We’ve got to try to see if we can make a play. If you miss a little bit, they end up making the play. It’s great work for us, and you understand what you’re up against.”

Browner’s physicality would have been frequently penalized Wednesday, and in all probability by the standards of today’s game, Revis would have yielded a flag or two along the way, too. Brady likes to see it in practice, though, because there are going to be days when the flags remain pocketed and his offense will need to find a way around it.

“That’s what defenses do,” Brady said. “We’ll go into games and say, ‘Look, these guys hold on every play. They grab you. They clutch you. They hold you, but we still have to figure out a way to get open.’ It’s not flag football.”

Return game

Special teams captain Matthew Slater practiced for the first time after an unknown injury kept him out of organized team activities, minicamp and the first six practices of training camp.

The three-time Pro Bowler was essentially a full participant for an hour, working with the receivers and on the kickoff teams, before leaving the field to work on his conditioning.

“There’s definitely a balance you have to maintain there and I think it was important for me to rely on the training staff,” Slater said of his acclimation process. “They know what’s best for me even when I don’t. That’s what they’re trained and paid to do, so I just have to listen and try to do what I can, when I can and go from there.”

Second helping

Wide receiver Danny Amendola admitted he feels better about himself in his second camp with the Patriots.

Amendola only had 54 catches for 633 yards and two touchdowns while battling a torn groin in 12 games last season, but he has again caught Brady’s attention at practice. There was a point Wednesday when Brady targeted Amendola on four consecutive attempts in 11-on-11 work, and the lone incompletion was a screen pass that got batted down at the line.

Injuries are unpredictable, but while healthy, Amendola looks the part.

“I feel comfortable,” Amendola said. “It’s different. A year under your belt in a system, a new place, a new organization, it’s kind of like when a rookie comes in for the first time and tries to learn the offense. It might be difficult, but the second year, that learning curve is much less. I feel very comfortable right now, and I’m just trying to come out and work.”

Roll call

Slater, wide receiver Josh Boyce and linebacker Chris White returned to practice. Cornerback Jemea Thomas, who hasn’t participated since the first practice of camp, rehabbed on the sidelines for the first time since his injury.